Town has high adoption rates

ACTIVELY seeking adoptive parents in Daventry is just one reason for a 30 per cent rise in the number of children being adopted across Northamptonshire.

County councillors say they have taken measures to improve and speed up the adoption process in the county and these measures have lead to more successful rates of adoption than the national average.

County councillor for Daventry West Chris Long said: “The first year that a child enters into care is probably the most critical period in respect of resettlement. NCC recognised this and set in motion activities to address it.

“This included seeking more adopters in Daventry, which is a wonderful area for children to be brought up, and throughout the county.

“This has been successful and since April last year there has been a 30 per cent increase in the number of adoptions and a 28 per cent increase in the number of applicants approved to be adopters.”

This comes just a week after the government released a map showing the number of children waiting to be adopted in different parts of England.

The map showed Northamptonshire to be in the highest category for children waiting to be adopted but who had not yet moved in with an adoptive family.

NCC cabinet member for children, learning and skills Andrew Grant said:“The map appears to be a snapshot of how many children were awaiting adoption at a specific time, but as a tool for comparing local authority areas it isn’t very useful because it give numbers without context.

The figures for Northamptonshire are what we would expect given the population of the county and as a proportion of the numbers of children in care in Northamptonshire.”

The map indicates there are over 48 children waiting to be adopted in the county and was released as part of a ‘shake-up’ aimed at speeding up the adoption process.

Cllr Grant added: “Those adopted in Northamptonshire are more likely to have a successful adoption than the national average. In fact, we know that Northamptonshire’s adoption break-down rate is half the national average.”